Gender Expectations during WWII: Changing Roles of Women

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Gender Expectations
Changing Roles of Women
The Second World War, which raged on for six long years until 1945, had devastating repercussions on many people's lives. Just like any other war, it was inhuman, beastly, and horrible (Woolf, Three Guineas 8). Despite the battlefields being largely in Europe and some parts of Asia, its disastrous effects were felt far and wide. Families that had hitherto been close-knit were torn apart in ways beyond repair. Many families lost flourishing businesses elsewhere, thereby banishing them into lives of utter wretchedness and despair. When rumors of the impending war began gaining traction, people were thrown into a mood of profound panic. They lived fearing for the worst. In Woolf's Between the Acts, Giles is seen musing to himself; "Guns will rake this land into furrows" (29). In England, the conventional roles of women underwent a tremendous shift during the war. They found themselves playing the unfamiliar roles of being breadwinners, psychologically traumatized, widows, and prisoners of war.
The role of breadwinning has since time immemorial been the responsibility of men. However, this changed immensely when many women found that responsibilities rested squarely on their shoulders after their husbands were conscripted into the war. According to Woolf in Three Guineas, there is a widely accepted maxim that war is a man's affair (7). In this perspective, these men were forced to leave their families to go fight in faraway places (Yellin 20). After they left, their wives started experiencing unprecedented shortages, inadequacies, and challenges. These dire circumstances forced many women to devise ways to fend for their families. Many were forced to do odd jobs, and where jobs were not forthcoming, they had no choice but to beg. This new role of running families came tugging along many challenges because, to begin with, everything was scarce and pretty expensive. They had to make do with the little they could lay their hands on (Yellin 24). Others were forced into refugee camps after losing their habitations, and the living conditions there is nothing to write home about. Those were trying times, even to the most enduring.
The Second World War was a source of psychological trauma to many women whose husbands or sons were away on the battlefields. As such, they found themselves playing the role of perpetual invalids. Many lived constantly worrying about the safety of their loved ones. Undoubtedly, the war had cast a shadow of grim on people, and they lived within the spectrum of death (Woolf, Between the Acts 59). As Woolf illustrates here, William is seen conversing with Mrs. Giles, saying, "The doom of sudden death hanging over us" (59). The two have just met for the first time and are not sure about meeting again. In some instances, women who required special attention, especially pregnant women, were forced to live with relatives. More often than not, these relatives were not hospitable, which caused them increased trauma (Yellin 16). In some cases, women suffered from psychological illnesses like neurosis supposedly due to sex deprivation. Others were subjected to wartime rape and had to live with post-traumatic stress for the re...